[Silent Turkey-2] Kurds
by
EKREM DUMANLI

The overall general situation is no different. A significant portion of Kurds fear the organization. Underlying this fear is the incontestable role accorded to the PKK leader. The dramatic end people suffer when they hem and haw around the organization or the organization’s leader is known. It is for this reason that the slightest implication or smallest warning from the organization is formidable. Under these circumstances, it is impossible for a Kurdish intellectual to make minor self-criticisms, let alone thoroughly contemplate the issue. It isn’t as easy as it seems for a Kurdish intellectual to offer a solution by distancing himself from the organization or even openly opposing the terror method. This is the crux of the despairing situation the Democratic Society Party (DTP) has fallen into. Apo (Abdullah Öcalan) controls his organization like Stalin, and as it currently stands, he looks like he is the leader of a dying organization. There is a heavy cost for opposing a leader whose words are considered to be indisputable commands. In cases like that, there is no option for finding a solution.

Fear of the state

At one time, Kurdish intellectuals (and even young crowds) subconsciously had the same kind of sharp and eerie fear of the state. Unfortunately wrong and unfair practices and illegal activities fostered this fear. Now the government has taken important steps en route to democracy. Reforms that were unimaginable five to 10 years ago have been implemented. Various bans on the Kurdish language have been gradually removed. Kurdish language schools have opened, television channel(s) have started broadcasting in Kurdish and the ban on Kurdish songs has been removed. Now the majority of those who used these issues to explain the “victimization of Kurds” prefer to stay silent. It is almost as if a circumlocution or deflection mechanism is being put into play. Those who reckon the steps that have been taken will benefit the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) and conduct politics over Kurds are insistently ignoring the positive developments that have taken place in recent years. The absence of appreciation for positive developments and the continuation of lamentations have led many people to wonder if they have other plans. Certainly there are more steps that need to be taken in the name of democratization; however, it’s necessary to realize that disregarding the progress that has been made up until now leads to communication problems. For example, whenever the Kurdish problem used to be debated, the torture that happened at Diyarbakır Prison after the Sept. 12, 1980 coup was always brought up. People were right in mentioning this issue. There was no justification for a state worker to torture people. The incidents, unsolved murders and torture that happened in Diyarbakır Prison were unacceptable mistakes.

Now the government is taking important steps to compensate for some of its mistakes. The judiciary is pursuing unsolved murder cases. Lime pits have been excavated, eyewitnesses have been summoned to court, records have been kept, cases have been opened and individuals whose names were mentioned repeatedly in events have been delivered to justice. For example, Col. Cemal Temizöz was detained while he was the commander of the Kayseri Provincial Gendarmerie Battalion and arrested after appearing in court in Diyarbakır. He is still in Diyarbakır Prison and continues to testify to the court (just like other suspects).

Lack of proper democratic support

It is clear that Kurdish intellectuals, who until recently worked to turn Diyarbakır into a wailing wall against the “deep state,” have not shown the proper democratic support for this case. There are people who are striving to conceal the case. Interest in the case is declining day by day. Has the settling of accounts in the judiciary attracted the due attention of the DTP and KCK? No. Those who ponder the Kurdish problem and speak on this issue at every platform are expected to adopt a stance against the organization (at least as bold as the stance they have against the state). Can this happen? It would be very difficult.

 Everyone, including politicians, journalist and social scientists, is talking about the “Kurdish problem.” The largest group of people with a Kurdish identity is also the same group of people that are the most silent on the issue. This group prefers to observe the developments from afar, make minor gestures and refrain from speaking until they have a firm understanding of how things will end. There are various reasons for this silence, ranging from the painful events that have been experienced until now to concerns about how this process will end. These reasons make the decision to remain silent meaningful. But how long should this stance continue? How much longer can the question “if not now then when” be delayed?

In reality, Kurds will be the main decisive factor in the Kurdish problem, in other words, people that have a clear conscience, that have overcome their fear of the organization and state nightmare with their personal conviction and that believe in peace and brotherhood from the bottom of their heart. There is this kind of a large group among Kurds. These people know how to act with common sense. They know who benefits from the fight between the two brothers. In fact everyone knows that the rule of those who sustain their power over the people by inciting fear with the continuation of the problem will dissolve once social peace and cohesion is ensured. Some circles do not want problems to be solved. But anything they do is ineffective because the silent majority actually realizes that the process we are undergoing is a sincerity test. This process hints at a time period in which the democratic voice of that majority will echo throughout the country. When that voice in the hearts starts to speak, you will not be able to hear the voices of loudmouths who currently fill the squares.